Bisglyoxal monomers have been prepared by oxidation of diacetyl compounds which have been prepared by Friedel-Crafts acylation of the corresponding dicarboxylic acid chloride to the methyl ketone. These prior art bisglyoxals have had the general structural formula: ##STR2## where R was a difunctional aromatic radical and R' was a phenylene radical, or more frequently, a hydrogen radical. The linear polyquinoxalines made from these bisglyoxals generally exhibited poorer thermal stability if the bisglyoxal was hydrogen terminated rather than aromatic terminated. However, the hydrogen terminated compound produced polymers which exhibited better adhesive qualities than the fully aromatic counterparts. In both instances, either the thermal or mechanical properties of the linear polymers were relatively poor.